Posthumus Conference 2026 - registration still open! |
| The registration for the Posthumus Conference 2026 is now open! This year's edition will be held at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam. The keynote lecture on the conference theme 'Global Capitalism' will be delivered by Professor Sven Beckert, Laird Bell Professor of History at Harvard University. The programme further offers presentations by both Posthumus PhDs and Posthumus fellows as well as a poster presentation by the Posthumus PhDs of cohort 2025. The conference is open to anyone interested, but prior registration is requested. |
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Posthumus Book workshop (Leiden, 4 June 2026) - deadline applications 1 May 2026 |
| On 4 June 2026, the N.W. Posthumus Institute offers a book workshop in Leiden. Under the guidance of Viola Müller, postdoc researcher and lecturer at Wageningen UR, the aim of this workshop is to bring together a community of researcher struggling with the same issues in the writing process, like: how to publish for a broader audience, the development of a 'writing style', and how to write a convincing book proposal. The setting will be informal and mainly focus on exchanging thoughts and experiences. Confirmed guest speakers are Janna Coomans (winner Libris Geschiedenis Prijs 2025), Maarten Prak (emeritus Professor and author of several historical books), and Wendy Wauters, art historian and author of several historical books. Participation is free, but limited, and prior application (ultimately by 1 May 2026) is required. |
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Posthumus Summer School 'Crises and History' (Utrecht, 6-10 July 2026) - deadline registration 1 June 2026 |
After two successful previous editions, the N.W. Posthumus Institute will once more offer the Posthumus Summer School on ‘Crises and History’ on 6-10 July 2026. Dr Jessica Dijkman, associate professor at Utrecht University and Scientific Director of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, will deliver this Summer School, which aims to help students acquire the knowledge and skills to develop their own research ideas on this theme and select and use the methods and sources to carry out the research. Participation is free of charge, participants should register ultimately by 1 June 2026.
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ESTER RDC 2026 to be held at KU Leuven (26-28 October 2026) - deadline abstracts 15 June 2026 |
On 26 to 28 October 2026 the 2026 edition of the ESTER Research Design Course (RDC) will be held. This year’s edition will be hosted by the KU Leuven under the guidance of Maïka De Keyzer. The N.W. Posthumus Institute (as secretariat of the ESTER Network) and the local organisers of KU Leuven Seville welcome abstracts for this RDC. The RDC assists candidates in setting up a high quality and well-designed plan for their dissertation under the guidance of a team of senior researchers and research design specialists whose task it is to provide comments and feedback. Candidates wishing to participate are requested to send in their application and abstract no later than 15 June 2026.
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Valedictory lecture Professor Jan Kok |
| On 25 June 2026, Jan Kok, Professor of Economical, Social and Demographic History at the Faculty of Arts, Radboud University, and longstanding member of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, will deliver a valedictory lecture (in Dutch), titled ‘Homo Dipisiensis: Over de historische demografie van ontheemden’. The lecture can be attend in-person, in that case pre-registration is requested. The lecture will also be streamed online via the live stream of Radboud University. The N.W. Posthumus Institute is very grateful to all the efforts Jan made over the year for the N.W. Posthumus Institute. |
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RIAS-Posthumus PhD Workshop 'From Research to Publication' (Middelburg, 8 May 2026) – deadline 1 May 2026 |
The Roosevelt Institute for American Studies (RIAS) and the research network ‘Societies in Context’ of the Posthumus Institute (research network) invite PhD candidates to an afternoon workshop focused on a core question of doctoral life: how to build and use scholarly networks to strengthen your research and translate it into publishable work. This seminar is designed for researchers working on (or adjacent to) social, labor, and environmental history, and it will combine practical discussion, methodological reflection, and concrete publishing guidance. Featured speaker will be Professor Marc Rodriguez (Portland State University), editor of the Pacific Historical Review and a leading scholar of Mexican American/Chicanx history, social movements, migration, and US legal history. Applicants are asked to submit their application ultimately 1 May 2026.
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Research Workshop ‘Mortality, Morbidity, and Medicine: Historical Health and Demography across the Atlantic’ (Groningen, 8 June 2026) – registration required, deadline 30 April 2026 |
| On 8 June 2026, preceding the PhD Defence by Posthumus alumnus Dinos Sevdalakis, Dinos will organise the Research Workshop ‘Research Workshop ‘Mortality, Morbidity, and Medicine: Historical Health and Demography across the Atlantic’ at the Academy Building of the University of Groningen. This workshop is supported by the Research Network ‘Life-Courses, Family, and Labour’ of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology, and the Greatleap Network. Confirmed speakers are Dr Mayra Murkens, Professor Hilde Bras, Dr Adrien Remund (all University of Groningen), Professor Alice Reid (University of Cambridge), and Dr Björn Quanjer (Radboud University). Participation is free of charge, but prior registration is required, ultimately by 30 April 2026. |
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Masterclass ‘Social Histories of Dutch Colonialism in the Indian Ocean World’ with Professor Nigel Worden (Nijmegen, 24 June 2026) |
| On 24 June 2026, the research groups ‘Colonial Relations and Structures’ and the ‘Radboud Group for Historical Demography and Family History’ (both Radboud Institute for Culture and History), in cooperation with the N.W. Posthumus Institute, organise the masterclass Masterclass ‘Social Histories of Dutch Colonialism in the Indian Ocean World’. Keynote speaker at this masterclass will be Emeritus Professor Nigel Worden (University of Cape Town). The aim of the workshop is to bring together Dutch junior and senior researchers working on social histories of VOC territories in the Indian Ocean World. Also, Dr Kate Ekama (Stellenbosch University) will present her new ‘Project 1834’ during the break of this lunch seminar. |
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Public Lecture ‘Project 1834' by Dr Kate Ekama (Nijmegen, 24 June 2026) |
On 24 June 2026, Dr Kate Ekama (Stellenbosch University) will deliver a public lecture on the brand-new ‘Project 1834’, which relates to Stellenbosch University’s broader transformation policy and efforts toward research, restitution, and social justice. Dr Kate Ekama is a Senior Researcher at Stellenbosch University and the Laboratory for the Economics of Africa’s Past (LEAP). The lecture is delivered as part of the Masterclass ‘Social Histories of Dutch Colonialism in the Indian Ocean World’ held on the same day and organised by the research groups ‘Colonial Relations and Structures’ and the ‘Radboud Group for Historical Demography and Family History’ (both Radboud Institute for Culture and History), in cooperation with the N.W. Posthumus Institute,.
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MarxismNL Conference 2026 'Pulling the Emergency Break' (Amsterdam, 8-9 October 2026) - deadline proposals 29 May 2026 |
| On 8-9 October 2026, MarxismNL, a network of Marxist students, researchers, and teachers active in the Netherlandst, promoting both academic and non-academic events such as public lectures, societal and political debates, reading groups, book launches by members or affiliated groups, will organise its first MarxismNL Conference. The theme of this first conference, supported by the Posthumus Research Network 'Globalisation, Inequality, and Sustainability in Long-Term Perspective' will be 'Pulling the Emergency Break'. The organisers welcome proposals for papers as well as panel ideas. Proposals and ideas can be submitted in English or Dutch, ultimately by 29 May 2026. |
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TSEG Special Edition in honor of Marlou Schrover and Leo Lucassen out now |
| The TSEG – The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History recently published a special issue on the theme ‘Pioneers in Migration History’. This special edition is dedicated to Marlou Schrover and Leo Lucassen, both retiring in the course of 2026 and both widely recognised as pioneers in migration history. This special issue contains cotributions from Ad Knotter, Peter Scholten, Patrick Manning, Annemarie Steidl, Lex Heerma van Voss, Marijke van Faassen, Rik Hoekstra, Colin Pooley, Manon van der Heijden, Ariadne Schmidt, Eveline den Hollander, and Ymke Vreeburg. Their articles do not merely pay tribute, but also actively extend, test, and interrogate the analytical frameworks that Marlou and Leo helped to establish. The TSEG – The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History is available as open-access journal. |
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Call for papers 2026 Special Issue Journal for the History of Environment and Society – deadline 31 August 2026 |
The editorial board of the Journal for the History of Environment and Society (JHES), among whom a large number of Posthumus fellows, invites submissions for its 2026 Special Issue, dedicated to exploring the role of the Low Countries as both a place and an actor in global environmental history. Welcomed are contributions that illuminate how local environments, knowledge, institutions, ecologies, and material flows in the Low Countries were shaped by — and in turn shaped — distant environments around the globe. Papers should be in English, have a length of 8,000–10,000 words, and will be double-blind peer reviewed. Papers should be submitted ultimately by 31 August 2026.
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Prof. F. de Vries-lecture 2026 delivered by Nobel laureate Joel Mokyr (Amsterdam, 13 May 2026) - registration required |
| On 13 May 2026, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), together with the Foundation Prof. F. de Vries, jointly organise the Prof. F. de Vries-lecture. This year, the lecture, titled 'The market for ideas: then and now', will be delivered by Professor Joel Mokyr, Nobel laureate in Economics 2025. In his lecture, Professor Mokyr will describe the development of the supply and demand of ideas, from the very start of the Republic of Letters in the fifteenth century, via the Industrial Revolution, right until the current day. The lecture will be followed by a public discussion, where Jutta Bolt, Professor in Global Economic History at the University of Groningen and board member of the N.W. Posthumus Institute, and Maxim Februari, Dutch novelist, legal philosopher, and columnist will act as referents. Those interested to attend should register soon with the KNAW given the limited seating and shown interest. |
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Call for participants Summer School 'Tensions of Europe 2026' (Dordrecht, 6-7 July 2026) – deadline 20 April 2026 |
| The Tensions of Europe Early Career Scholars Network welcomes applications for the summer school organised in connection to the XII Tensions of Europe Conference 'The meaning of the past in sustainable futures'. The summer school will take place in Dordrecht, 6-7 July 2026; the related conference will be at the Eindhoven University of Technology, 8-10 July 2026. The summer school aims at introducing early career scholars to the Tensions of Europe community as well as to facilitate networking between scholars across borders, and support the consolidation and building of new academic skills. Confirmed guests include Professor Ruth Oldenziel (Eindhoven University of Technology and Culture), Professor Nina Wormbs (KTH Royal Institute of Technology), Dr Anna Aberg (Chalmers University of Technology), Dr Emily Clark (University of Amsterdam), and Dr Anne Helmond (Utrecht University). Applicants should submit their application ultimately by 20 April 2026. |
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Call for paper and session proposals ESSHC 2027 Conference (Lyon, France, 21-24 April 2027) – EXTENDED deadline 22 April 2026 |
The International Institute of Social History (IISH), in cooperation with the École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon), welcomes paper and session proposals for the 16th edition of the European Social Science History Conference (ESSHC 2027), to be held at ENS Lyon on 21-24 April 2027. The aim of the ESSHC is bringing together scholars interested in explaining historical phenomena using the methods of the social sciences. The conference welcomes papers and sessions on any historical topic and any historical period and is organised in 28 thematic networks. Proposals should be submitted by ultimately 22 April 2026 (extended deadline) via the dedicated platform of the IISH.
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KNAW Trailblazers Fund for early-career first-generation academics - deadline 29 April 2026 |
| The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has launched a call for applications for the KNAW Trailblazers Fund. The purpose of the Fund is to support early-career first-generation academics (PhD candidates in the final 2 years, assistant professors without a permanent position, and postdoc researchers within the first three years after their promotion) in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and retain them for academia. Researchers are considered to be first-generation academics if neither of the parents of the academic hold a university degree or the researcher has a refugee background and has to rebuild their scientific/scholarly career in the Netherlands from scratch. The grants form part of the Adriana Hoogerbrugge legacy and consist of a sum of 3,000-5,000 euros (for PhDs) or 5,000-10,000 euros (assistant professors and postdocs). Applications for either of these grants should be submitted ultimately 29 April 2026. |
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Call for papers Conference ‘Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environmental History of the Low Countries' (Ghent, 3-4 December 2026) – deadline 30 April 2026 |
On 3 and 4 December 2026, Ghent University will host the conference, ‘Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environmental History of the Low Countries’. The conference is a collaboration between researchers on the medieval and (early) modern Low Countries and the Roman Society Research Center. The conference wants to encourage the exchange of recent research, ongoing projects, and current debates between scholars working in different disciplines, including environmental history, environmental archaeology, historical ecology, and historical geography. It invites contributions that study environmental change in the Low Countries from Antiquity to modern times. Deadline for abstracts is 30 April 2026.
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Call for papers 5th Doctoral School in Medieval Economic History (Valencia, Spain, 29 June-1 July 2026) – deadline 30 April 2026 |
| The research group Cultures i Societats de l’Edat Mitjana (CiSEM) at the University of Valencia is organizing the 5th Doctoral School in Medieval Economic History, to be held from 29 June to 1 July 2026. In this fifth edition, the School will focus on ‘Taxation and State Building in the Middle Ages’. The Doctoral School will address the most recent research on public finances, taxation, and state building, with particular attention to the theoretical and methodological training of doctoral candidates and early career researchers. Keynote lectures will be delivered by Wim Blockmans (Emeritus Professor at Leiden University), Leonor Freire Costa (Professor at the Universidade de Lisboa) and Armand Jamme (Professor at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique). PhD students and early-career researchers interested in the topic are invited to submit their proposals ultimately by 30 April 2026. |
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Bijeenkomsten Werkgroep Stadsgeschiedenis (Leiden, 4 juni & Roermond, 12 juni 2026) |
| ~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ De Werkgroep Stadsgeschiedenis organiseert in juni twee bijeenkomsten. Op donderdag 4 juni 2026 is er van 9:30 tot 12:30 uur in Leiden een bijeenkomst over ‘Nieuw onderzoek naar stadswording in de middeleeuwen en vroegmoderne tijd’. Op vrijdag 12 juni 2026 vindt er vanaf 10:30 uur een stadswandeling plaats in Roermond, om 13:00 uur gevplgd door voordrachten over het thema ‘Stadswording in Limburg en het Overkwartier van Gelre: 1000 jaar steden- en huizenbouw’. |
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Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum lanceert Oral History Portal |
| ~ because of scope in Dutch only ~ Onlangs heeft het Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (BHIC) het Oral History Portal gelanceerd. De portal bundelt zogeheten oral history-interviews: geluidsopnames van gesprekken over persoonlijke herinneringen. Deze opnames waren al onderdeel van de BHIC-collectie, maar zijn nu voor het eerst overzichtelijk samengebracht op één plek. Binnen de portal zijn verschillende interviewcollecties te vinden. Per interview is een audio-opname beschikbaar, vaak aangevuld met een transcript. Bezoekers vinden daarnaast informatie over de geïnterviewde en de inhoud van het gesprek. De Oral History Portal te vinden op de website van het BHIC. |
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PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Bram Hilkens (Erasmus University Rotterdam, 22 May 2026) |
On 22 May 2026, Posthumus alumnus Bram Hilkens will defend the PhD thesis ‘Living off the Land? Land Inequality in Early Modern Holland, 1543–1708’ at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Supervisors are Dr Daniel R. Curtis (Erasmus University Rotterdam), Professor Angelique Janssens (Radboud University), and Professor Paul van de Laar (Erasmus University Rotterdam). The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Bram a successful defence!
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PhD Defence Posthumus alumnus Dinos Sevdalakis (University of Groningen, 8 June 2026) |
On 8 June 2026, Posthumus alumnus Dinos Sevdalakis will defend the thesis 'Tracing the roots of population growth: Fertility and mortality transitions in West Africa (1880-1980)' at the University of Groningen. Supervisors are Professor Hilde Bras and Dr Adrien Remund (both University of Groningen). The N.W. Posthumus Institute wishes Dinos a successful defence!
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Congratulations to our PhDs recently promoted! |
| Dr Alessandra De Mulder (University of Antwerp) on the thesis ‘Embedding a consumer revolution. Shifting value constructions and mental frameworks in auction advertisements in the United Kingdom, c.1730-1830’. Supervisors: Professor Bruno Blondé and Professor Bert De Munck (both University of Antwerp). (27 March). |
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Posthumus Conference 2026 (Amsterdam, 21-22 May 2026) – registration open now
Call for participants Summer School 'Tensions of Europe 2026' (Dordrecht, 6-7 July 2026) –deadline 20 April 2026
Call for paper and session proposals ESSHC 2027 Conference (Lyon, France, 21-24 April 2027) – extended deadline 22 April 2026
Call for applications KNAW Trailblazers Fund for early-career first-generation academics – deadline 29 April 2026
Registration for Research Workshop ‘Mortality, Morbidity, and Medicine: Historical Health and Demography across the Atlantic’ (Groningen, 8 June 2026) – deadline 30 April 2026
Call for papers Conference ‘Bridging Boundaries: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environmental History of the Low Countries’ (Ghent, Belgium, 3-4 December 2026) – deadline 30 April 2026
Call for papers 5th Doctoral School in Medieval Economic History (Valencia, Spain, 29 June-1 July 2026) – deadline 30 April 2026
Call for applications RIAS-Posthumus PhD Workshop 'From Research to Publication' (Middelburg, 8 May 2026) – deadline 1 May 2026
Call for papers and panels MarxismNL Conference 2026 'Pulling the Emergency Break' (Amsterdam, 8-9 October 2026) – deadline proposals 29 May 2026
Posthumus Summer School 2026 ‘Crises and History’ – deadline registration 1 June 2026
Call for abstracts ESTER RDC 2026 (KU Leuven, Belgium, 24-28 October 2026) – deadline abstracts 15 June 2026
Call for papers 2026 Special Issue Journal for the History of Environment and Society – deadline 31 August 2026
Jubilee competition Royal Frisian Society for History and Culture (KFG) 2027 – deadline 31 December 2026 |
Already following us on Mastodon? |
As of 1 March 2024, the N.W. Posthumus Institute has started using Mastodon as social medium, following the decision to stop using X, formerly known as Twitter, actively for new announcements, as a result of the current developments surrounding the X platform. Do sign up with Mastodon and follow our account to keep updated frequently with new items and developments. Join us on Mastodon!
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Credits images: Picture Posthumus Conference item: The Bosses of the Senate, cartoon by Joseph Keppler, first published in the magazine Puck on 23 January 1889. Public Domain. Image Posthumus book workshop: The passion of creation, painting by Leonid Pasternak. Public Domain. Photo Joel Mokyr: made by Clement Norin |
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